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Friday, July 25, 2008

If teens are too embarrassed to ask the doctor private questions, they can now text them! Here's the story:

As any parent knows, teens love "texting." Now some doctor hopes to turn that habit into improved medical care. We're showing you how a new waiting room gadget may be the way to get reluctant teens to communicate with their doctors.

For teenagers, waiting to see the doctor means dreading questions from another privacy-invading adult. But avoiding certain topics with doctors can hurt teens' health. Experts say many of the problems that teens face are not easily detected in brief primary care visits that might only happen once a year.

Now a new device called "health e-touch system" is giving waiting room patients the ability to answer personal and medical questions on a computer screen. The information is sent directly to their doctor, who can then identify high-risk behaviors and evaluate the patent's problems without an awkward question and answer period.Would this help your teen or would it have helped you address problems in high school?